Progressives killed the Build Back Better plan

 
Above: "Down and Out," a painting by Barnett Braverman (1888-?), while he was in the WPA's Federal Art Project, 1937. The guy on the floor is symbolic of Progressives, and the guy who knocked him out is symbolic of Corporate Democrats. Image courtesy of the General Services Administration and the Genessee Valley Council on the Arts.

Progressives are the suckers... again

Now that Joe Manchin has declared his opposition to the Build Back Better (BBB) plan, it's time for us to admit who really killed the BBB: Progressives.

Except for the Squad of Six (AOC, Omar, Tlaib, Pressley, Bowman, and Bush), the Progressive Caucus House members (nearly 100 legislators!) all voted to in favor of Manchin's Bipartisan Infrastructure legislation (BIF), stupidly trusting that Manchin (and Sinema) would eventually come around on the BBB. But once Manchin got his BIF, all leverage was lost, and then Manchin predictably squashed the BBB. Manchin is the snotty schoolyard kid who says, "Let me be the quarterback first, and then you can be the quarterback"; but then, when his time is done, he takes the football and goes home.

And all this came to pass after Progressives had already let Manchin whittle the BBB down from $3.5 trillion to somewhere between $1.5 and $1.9 trillion. Make no mistake about it, Manchin was toying with them the whole time.

Progressives voted for the BIF because they were scared. They were told to get in line, because Biden needed a win, and because Democrats needed the BIF for the 2022 mid-terms. The talking heads of the mainstream media were wringing their hands and gnashing their teeth, desperately wondering why Progressives were harming the Biden presidency, and "sabotaging the mid-terms!!!" But now the talking heads have changed their minds, and it seems that Americans won't be voting based on the infrastructure legislation after all. (WTF?)

So, Progressives caved for nothing, and are now complaining about Manchin. 

Progressives have been doing this crap for over 10 years now: Crafting, caving, and complaining. They craft bold policy proposals, cave to moderates, and then complain when things go sour. So, instead of a good CCC (a Civilian Conservation Corps, or a Civilian Climate Corps), we get a bad CCC (craft, cave, complain).

What Progressives don't understand, is that as long as they keep caving, moderates and right-wingers will keep playing them for suckers - just like Joe Manchin just did.

And the craft, cave, and complain act is getting really, REALLY, old. Dear Progressives: Either stand your ground, or don't bother with public policy at all. You're just creating false hope.

Back in October, when CNN's Dana Bash confronted Pramila Jayapal about Manchin's demand that the BBB be no larger than $1.5 trillion, Jayapal responded, "Well, that's not going to happen."

Actually it did happen, and in a big way. The BBB is now at $0.